Lemon Pepper Wings (Baked, Air Fryer, Grilled)

You’ll love this easy lemon pepper wings recipe. Make these with my tasty lemon wings sauce that’s wet and sticky and has a slightly hot heat. Cook them in the air fryer, grilled on the BBQ or oven baked. A very creative and tasty wings idea for game day. Let’s make ‘em…

Why these are the best lemon pepper wings…

• Great game day chicken wings appetizer.
• Easy to make super crispy.
• Spicy or mild. Adjust the heat to your liking, using less or more lemon pepper spice.
• Choose any way to cook them. You’ll see lemon pepper wings air fryer directions, steps for oven baking the wings, and grilling instructions. You can sous vide chicken wings or make smoked chicken wings, too.
• Healthier than wings near me at fast few places. These have a similar taste to Buffalo Wild Wings and Wingstop, but these wings aren’t deep fried in oil.

See 9 EASY chicken wing recipes to make at home >

Ingredients

So few ingredients go in the dry rub and sauce. Here’s what you’ll need to bring massive lemon pepper flavor to these wings.

Lemon pepper dry rub

• Chicken wings
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Baking powder (only needed for baking wings)

Lemon pepper chicken wings sauce

• Butter, melted
• Lemon pepper seasoning
• Black pepper
• Parsley, fresh chopped

Serving ideas

• Blue cheese dressing
• Lemon wedges
• Carrot and celery sticks

How to make lemon pepper dry rub

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. In a small bowl, mix together dry rub ingredients: garlic powder, salt, and baking powder (only use baking powder for baked lemon pepper chicken wings). Sprinkle lemon pepper dry rub on wings to completely coat them with seasonings. Store wings in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to 30 minutes to let the flavors settle, or use right away.

Air fryer lemon pepper wings steps

1. Preheat the air fryer to 375°F for 5 minutes. Spray air fryer basket with cooking spray if desired and add wings to the basket, skin side up and not touching. You can stand some wings up on the sides of the basket to fit them all, or bake them in batches.
2. Air fry lemon pepper wings for 25 minutes, flipping them halfway through at the 15 minute mark.
3. Then raise the air fryer cooking temperature to 400°F, flip the wings, and continue air frying them for about 8-10 minutes more, or until the thickest part of the thickest wing reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Test multiple wings to make sure they are done. Air fry undercooked wings for 2-3 minutes more at 400°F, or until they reach a safe temperature to eat.

Oven baked lemon pepper wings directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and add an oven safe wire rack to the tray. Spray the rack with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Add seasoned chicken wings, skin side up, to the wire rack in a single layer. Bake lemon pepper chicken wings for 50-60 minutes in 20 minute increments. Every 20 minutes, remove baked wings from the oven, spray them with cooking spray, and flip them.
3. Bake wings until the internal temperature of each wing reaches 165°F (measure with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the wing). Add any undercooked wings back to the oven for 5-7 minutes at a time.

BBQ or gas grilled lemon pepper wings instructions

1. Preheat the gas grill or BBQ to 425°F. Lay chicken wings out flat on a paper towel and pat them dry.
2. Once the grill is preheated, spray the grates with cooking spray or brush them with olive oil to prevent the seasoned lemon pepper wings from sticking to the grates. Lay lemon pepper dry rub seasoned wings perpendicularly on the grates. Close the grill lid and grill wings for around 25-35 minutes – in 5 minute increments. At every 5 minute mark, spray the tops of the wings with cooking spray or oil, flip them over, and rotate placement of the wings on the grill so they cook evenly. You can transfer wings that are cooking faster to the outside edge of the grill, or to a higher grill grate, if needed.
3. To know if they’re done, check the temperature of chicken wings using a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken wing, without touching the bone. Wings are done when they reach an internal temperature of 165°F.

How to make hot lemon pepper sauce for wings

1. Make the sauce while the wings cook. Add all ingredients to a large bowl: butter, lemon pepper seasoning, pepper, parsley. Whisk together.
2. Add baked / grilled / air fried lemon pepper chicken wings to the bowl with the sauce. Toss chicken wings in the lemon pepper sauce to coat evenly.
3. Plate chicken wings with a drizzle of leftover lemon sauce, blue cheese dressing, carrots, celery and slices of lemon wedges.

FAQs for making lemon pepper wings

Air Fryer Recommendations

Air Fryer Machine: In my Sip Bite Go recipe tutorials, you’ll see either my black Philips Airfryer XXL or my spaceship-looking self-cleaning air fryer by Fritaire (partner).

Are you a foodie, too?

Hey home chefs, I want to know what you think and see photos of your hot lemon pepper wings! Find me on Instagram @sipbitego to tag me and connect. People message me photos of their finished recipes and ask for tips all the time, so don’t be shy!

So what type of wings will you try next? Garlic parmesan wings and smoked wings and grilled wings are good recipes to start with… Or sous vide chicken wings or sous vide bbq wings… You can even make air fryer chicken wings. They’re all so good!

In addition to baked wings, you can make your own steak marinades at home—and one wonderful place to start is with my flank steak marinade recipe. Use it on grilled, broiled, or seared beef – it adds some delicious extra flavor!

Make restaurant-style food at home with my video guides on the Sip Bite Go channel. And to find more delicious recipes to try on your culinary journey, scroll through the Sip Bite Go recipe collection.